No Such Thing as Paradise
by Chibi Pikapuff
Summary: Drake, a boy from Lower Valua, is desperate to live in Upper Valua, but when through coincidence he meets a girl from the rich side he finds out it isn't the paradise it seems...


This is a story about two people living in different areas of the island Valua, and what happens when circumstance leads to their paths crossing. May I just emphasise that Skies of Arcadia does NOT, and never will belong to me, it actually belongs to Sega Enterprises & Overworks, so don't sue me… please ~_^  
  
May I also say that I do not want 'flames' telling me that Valua "isn't like this" or "isn't like that" because I haven't finished the game yet and this is just my interpretation of what it is like… OK. And all right so I probably sounded extremely nasty in saying that, but I didn't mean to, I just wanted to explain myself before I got complaints… I don't mind flames by the way, as long as they give me advice on how to improve. ^_^  
  
This story will be written from a variety of point of views, and the person who is speaking is the person given in the chapter's title.  
  
One more thing before I hand over to Drake, my stories aren't always updated as frequently as I would like, due both to work and the fact that I have many stories on the go at once, so please be patient when waiting for updates, because they always come eventually.  
  
1 Chapter One: Drake  
  
For those who don't know, the island of Valua, which is one of the most powerful in the skies, is divided into two areas, Upper Valua and Lower Valua. Upper Valua is where the rich and famous citizens make their home. The streets are paved in gold, and the buildings made mostly of fragments of fallen moonstones, or so I've heard. People there live lives of luxury, dining on the finest meals and wearing the finest clothes… and aren't I SO jealous of them.  
  
Lower Valua is a far cry from what I've just described. Dirty air, tiny houses and not enough food to feed a rat are the conditions that we lower citizens have to put up with, and have done for over a hundred years. There are three times as many people here as there are in Upper Valua, which makes it cramped and impossible to live in peace. Crime haunts most of the area, and there are no laws to stop it happening, as all the rules are assigned to the people who are 'worth' it, in other words, the people who haven't done a hard days work in their lives.  
  
My name is Drake Evrae, and my family has made it's home in Lower Valua for generations, going back over three hundred years. I'm only 16 years old, but already work alongside my father in mines which produce coal for the rich citizens. It's a dirty job, but at the moment I don't have any other choice. I have a sister of 14 years named Mia, whose intelligence means she is allowed entry to the only school in this part of the island; lucky for her, because if she hadn't made it into the school she would be creating outfits for the rich and famous. That may sound like a luxurious job, but my mother has been doing it since she was young, and the hours are long and the pay rubbish, and we don't see her as often as we'd like because she's always either working or sleeping.  
  
It's not easy growing up in Lower Valua. In fact it's worse than simply 'not easy'; it's torture. Food is scarce, as most of it is sent directly to the mansions in the rich area. A large majority of what we do get is rotten and uneatable, and what decent food we can scavenge has to be shared between almost a thousand people, so a lot of people go hungry for days on end. The lucky few, including me and my family, own tiny tin houses, with no running water or central heating, and the rest make their homes wherever they can, whether it be in the streets or deep below the ground in the cities sewers.  
  
The main area of trade within our area of the island is rations for Air Pirates and travellers, who land their boats in the port here twenty-four hours a day. In various small shops surrounding the port, items essential to people owning ships are to be found, and I often browse the shelves to see what's on offer, even though, as yet, I don't own a boat – that's something for the future. The problem is, as I found out while talking to one of the owners, is that most of the money earned through sales is lost through shoplifting, and there's nothing that can be done about it. It sometimes makes me sick, that people can stoop that low, but I understand that a lot of people here don't have a choice if they want to live, and that may sound awful, but that's the harsh reality of this world.  
  
"Drake!" shouts my sister from inside the house. She's always doing that, interrupting me from my thoughts the moment they begin to deepen. "Aren't you ever going to come down from there?" Predictable as ever. She does the same thing every night as soon as she gets bored. In a moment she'll be up on the roof complaining that I spend too much time here thinking about the future and about my dream.  
  
My dream. That's what I was coming to. I've been talking about the differences between Upper and Lower Valua for over half an hour, and what I was meaning to say in the beginning was that I WILL get to Upper Valua. I've been talking about the rich area as if I loathe and despise it, but the truth is, I'm in awe of the place. From this end of the island it looks like one giant moonstone, sparkling in all the colours of the rainbow and more, and between the area I'm in now and that, there's no contest. The last person to share my dream was my great grandfather, and he died before he managed to fulfil it, and now I feel like it is my destiny to follow in his footsteps. However, the difference between him and me is that I'll succeed.  
  
Here she is. I can hear her climbing the old ladder running up the side of the apartment; in fact, when someone makes their way up, almost the whole island can hear it's creaking.  
  
"You've got more chance of seeing a pig float across the starry sky ahead of you than you have of getting to Upper Valua," my sister, Mia, comments dryly before she has even stepped one foot onto the rusting tin roof of the building.  
  
"Actually, flying pigs aren't as impossible as it sounds," I shoot back immediately. "All you need is a catapult and a willing animal," I retort, although I know perfectly well what she is getting at.  
  
"It was a metaphorical statement," she says back. "All I'm saying is that as soon as you entered the area you'd be captured by the Valuan Guards and executed for the pleasure of us poor citizens."  
  
I sigh loudly, telling her that I show no interest in her views. After all she's heard it a thousand times before; that what she calls statements are merely her own opinion, and that I'm not about to march into the world of wealth and expensive jewellery without a solid and well thought out plan.  
  
"You know I'll get there eventually," I reply, surprising myself with an almost unemotional tone of voice.  
  
"You're pathetic, you know that?" she laughs at me – no change there – and slaps me playfully but somehow harshly on my left shoulder.  
  
"At least I have dreams," I reply, echoing exactly what is in my deepest thoughts and feelings.  
  
"A dream isn't a dream when it's not possible to fulfil. An impossible dream is called a fantasy."  
  
"Think what you like," I snap back. "I'll get to Upper Valua."  
  
The roof shakes violently and grey dust begins to rise into the dark atmosphere as I leap agilely from it and land with disorientated crash on the stony ground. Retreating to a tiny space between my apartment and the next, I slide to the floor and continue to gaze in awe at the beautiful lights of the rich area.  
  
"I often sit here and count all the different colours I can see reflected in the skies. I reached a hundred once," I sigh, feeling a tear forming in the corner of my eye. "I've never managed to do it again since. If I was there, I'm certain I'd be able to see more colours than I could ever imagine."  
  
"You really want to be there don't you?" Mai asks sympathetically, reverting her gaze to stare at me.  
  
"I'd love it more than anything in the world," I speak back, almost to myself.  
  
"Look… I'm sorry I'm so hard on you," she says sadly. "But I just don't want to see you get hurt." It's kind of nice to know someone is looking out for me, even if it is only my younger sister. But in a way at this moment I feel insulted, because I know that I'm strong, and I know that I can do anything that I want to, and hearing someone basically doubt that I can makes me feel bad.  
  
"I appreciate you worrying, but there's no need. I'll be fine." Damn. She's almost making me doubt myself; I can hear the unconvinced tone in my voice, and the guilt in my heart for not telling the truth… It's strange, because my mind is telling me that I can do anything, but my heart is telling me the opposite. It's as if I have two powerful forces arguing inside of me, and I don't know which one is the true one.  
  
Of course, it's obvious which force is the most powerful. I've been determined to live in Upper Valua since almost the moment I was born, and nothing, especially not doubt, is going to stop me from fulfilling my dream.  
  
"Are you going to come inside?" she asks me, once again tearing me away from my thoughts. "It's beginning to get cold." She's right; it is getting cold. Not that that means much in Valua, the constant night sky means that the temperature never rises or falls more than a few centigrade. But the fact remains, it's getting cold, and I think it's time to go to bed. Us Mine workers have to get up at 6 in the morning to make the most of the day, and give the bosses our money's worth. Before I move from my spot, I glance once more at the sights of Upper Valua, and vow that one day I will stand there and gaze across at the spot I'm sitting in now. 


End file.
